This blog is all about Rotherhithe, past and present. The main themes are heritage, wildlife and news items that may be of interest to local residents. If you have any questions or would like to comment or ask me to cover any particular topic you can email me at andie [at] rotherhitheblog.co.uk. I am also on Twitter @AndieByrnes

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival - 11th to 22nd January 2016

Only one Jubilee Line stop or one Thames Clipper stop away, this looks like something well worth visiting after dark. Running from Monday 11th to Friday 22nd January, the Winter Lights Festival is running at Canary Wharf. I was over there yesterday on an organized walk from the Mayflower, via Tower Bridge, to Canary Wharf and one of the installations was being assembled in the middle of Westferry Garden (the circular area that you cross when leaving the Thames Clipper to West India Avenue towards Cabot Square and the iconic One Canada Square tower). There are going to be 18 installations, and it looks like a lot of fun. The one we saw being put together was a giant inflatable man. It was still daylight and was not ready to be lit up but it looked like as though it was going to be stunning ("Fantastic Planet" by Amanda Sharer).

I've copied the image above from the Winter Lights website, and don't know which one it is on the map - I shall go and have a look and see if I can spot it next week! You can download the full Winter Lights brochure from the website.

The sculptures, structures and installations on display are the creations of some of the most innovative artists and designers around today, presenting work using a great diversity of different forms of light technology. Together the artists represent four continents across the world with projects that are interactive, performance or visual spectacles to be admired from close up or from afar.

Appealing to art lovers, lighting enthusiasts, families, the young and the old, there is something for everyone as soon as dusk falls, and all for free.

Many pieces explore how we communicate in the modern world such as Julius Popp’s bit.fall that taps into live news feeds creating a digital typography waterfall and Bitone’s Totem that responds to the presence of mobile phone signals in the air around it. Other installations such as Jen Lewin’s The Pool encourages viewers to physically touch and engage with it and create visual and audio reactions.

Best seen after 4pm, all the installations and light effects will come alive throughout the evening until 9pm so join us on a dark January night and experience a wealth of inventive and spectacular creativity that will illuminate the Canary Wharf skyline.

Thanks to Florence for asking the installers what it was all about or I would be none the wiser.

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A History of South Dock

I have assembled all my posts concerning the history and heritage of South Dock into a website of its own, which seemed to be a requirement following the announcement of the St George's Wharf development that will overshadow the South Dock area. It can be found at:http://southdockse16.wordpress.com

Aberdovey Londoner

In July 2018 I moved to Aberdovey on the mid Welsh coast, and began a blog there. It is a very different place and experiences are all completely novel. If you are interested, you can find it at https://aberdoveylondoner.wordpress.com

Port of London Study Group

If you are interested in the archaeology and history of the Port of London you may be interested in the Port of London Study Group, a self-guided research group that operates out of the Museum of London. Find out more at http://portoflondonstudy.wordpress.com.

British Transport Treasures

This blog is run with considerable assistance from excellent local history publications written by Stuart Rankin. His works are my starting point for all history posts. Stuart has set up a website, called British Transport Treasures, that specializes in out of print publications which can be downloaded as PDFs that can be saved and printed. Out of print publications are a nightmare for anyone attempting local history research unless they have access to a specialist library and archives. British Transport Treasures is expanding fast with an ever-growing catalogue of titles. Each of the publications is described with a magazine-style short review to explain the scope of the content, and provided with a preview of the cover and first page. There is a nominal cost for each, to cover the costs of hosting and running the site, and 5p per item sold is donated to Help For Heroes. I am a massive fan of the site and what it is attempting to do, and as it has a number of publications concerning Rotherhithe I have drawn attention to some of them here.